Barcelona II

Shadow of the Wind walking tour - I had to do it since I love the book and had just read it a few months before visiting Barcelona.  Before leaving I snapped a picture of the map in the back of my copy of the book and on my last day in this splendid mysterious and gothic city I walked the imagined footsteps of Daniel and saw the buildings behind the inspirations for Shadow of the Wind.  I only missed Nuria Moport's apartment - very important, but I had no choice as Hannah had had enough of my wandering around and fleeting moments of being lost.  Still so glad that I did this ltt

 

Casa Batlló

Daniel's home & bookshop

Cemetery of Forgotten Books (a dark damp creepy little alley)

Plaza Real, Barceló's Apartment

Els Quartre Gats - a real restaurant that I unfortunately did not try

Barcelona Cathedral

old house on Avenida del Tibidabo - maybe the inspiration for the Aldaya mansion

Barcelona, Spain

We traveled to Barcelona at the beginning of May (where did the time go!) and truly enjoyed our time there - so did our taste buds :)

Fresh paella, Iberico ham for the carnivores, tasty cheese and delicious local wines.  There was so much to see and do, we did almost everything we wanted to and still just uncovered the surface.  We visited some more far flung sites than maybe most would have but I had my motives, which I will reveal in my next blog entry.

Unfortunately, I missed the night life, but that is what happens when you bring along your two year old. Hannah was a traveling champ as usual and a huge fan of the Iberico ham and the Spanish chocolate milk (me too!).  I was trying to hoard some of the brown & yellow boxes of delicious Cacaolat, but as it turns out I knew where they were and all were consumed before we had to pack to return home.  Good intentions!
  
We rented an apartment between the city center and the El Poblenou neighborhood which turned out to be one of our favorite areas with its laid back Rambla del Poblenou full of restaurants and shops.  The apartment was about a 10 minute walk from the beach and a 10 minute walk from the great park Parc de la Ciutadella  which is also home to the zoo Parc Zoològic de Barcelona.  A perfect location for a rental.

The public transportation was easy, clean, frequent and great for getting around the city.  We bought the T10 card and used it quite a bit.  Travis was traveling a bit further out of the city for the Barcelona Formula 1 races and found the metro useful.  From the BCN airport we hopped on an Aero Bus to get into the city center.  The Aerobus is a bit faster as it only makes a handful of stops.

There was so much to see, but I must admit that I was eager to see the beach.  The beach was nice with a great promenade and many bars, cafes and restaurants to choose from along the way.  I was very happy to be on the beach, seeing the ocean and listening to the waves.  However, the man made beaches do not compare to the shores of Lake Michigan and the dusty residue left by the imported sand was unexpected.

Of course, we saw much more than the beach including Palau de la Música Catalana (need tickets in advance), Barcelona Cathedral, Montjuic, Magic Fountain (which we missed seeing the evening light & music show), Tibidabo, markets, Ciutadella Park, Park Güell, the Antoni Gaudí architectural points of interest and strolling down the many ramblas.  I only saw a few of the Gaudi sites, but would like to see more one day.  There was so much to do and only so much time.  A half day could have been dedicated to Park Güell, but I was ill prepared.

Palau de la Música Catalana

Fountain in Parc de la Ciutadella 

HAPPY!

Fountain in Parc de la Ciutadella 

View from Tibidabo

Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor

Inside the Sagrat Cor

Park Güell

Park Güell

Provence

The strong cool northwesterly mistral winds were blowing but we enjoyed ourselves immensely.  Provence and the South of France were all at once breathtaking and relaxing.  We rented a great gite in Menerbes of the Luberon region with friends called Mas Des Cedres.  The owners were lovely, the house and surroundings charming and perfectly suitable for children.  *Tennis courts are like giant play pens - BONUS!!!

Although we went over the Easter holiday and it was beautiful I imagine that the summer months are amazing, but with that comes a million tourists and the unbearable traffic.  So we missed the famous lavender fields in bloom, but we enjoyed a few tiny villages, incredible wine, olives and colorful markets.  And sunshine of course.

The pace of life magically slowed as we neared our destination in Provence.  Actually, the pace of life slowed as we drove into France from Germany - going from unlimited speed to a set 120 km/h will certainly slow you down.  The Luberon region is famous for its melon - sadly we were too early for the season.  At the southern end of the Rhône Valley the Luberon has its own appellation designation Côtes du Luberon AOC.  Wine is always in season - lucky us!

It is no wonder the South of France and Provence in particular are so world renowned, but I will let our pictures do the work to save me from babbling....

MENERBES

GORDES

ROUSSILLON  EN PROVENCE

Loving the Mistral Winds

AIX EN PROVENCE

Cathedrale Saint-Sauveur

MALTA

Sea breezes and sunshine, but Malta was so much more.  After landing in Malta, we had an hour bus ride in which Hannah vomited all over me, the bus driver was doing us no favors and as we bounced along I took in our surroundings and prayed that Hannah was OK because what I saw outside the window had me worried. My brother joined us for this trip and I can only imagine what he was thinking we were getting him in too (besides traveling with a toddler!).  Really it was not so bad, but alarmed mother mode was not helping my perception or smell.  

Spinola Bay

There was plenty of beauty to be found on Malta; in the vistas, architecture, people and culture.  Island atmosphere, sunshine and warm temperatures tend to melt away worries.  The food was delicious with a heavy Sicilian influence - pasta, seafood and pizza - can't go wrong with those dishes.  In fact, my dearest two year old proved some unusual taste buds as she refused chicken nuggets and opted for calamari rings.

Saluting Battery 

There is so much history there - "Malta holds the record for the heaviest, sustained bombing attack: some 154 days and nights and 6,700 tons of bombs."  For such a small land mass this is astounding.  In fact, the whole island - around Valletta and The Grand Harbor - appears to be more of a fortification.  So there was plenty to see and explore.

Fort Manoel, Manoel Island, Malta

After wandering around on our own the first day or two we decided to do something that we've never done.  A sightseeing bus tour - two actually and a harbor cruise.  We'd purchased a public bus ticket for one week for 6 euros, but it turns out it takes forever to get to a destination.  So the bus tours suited our tight time frame.  I would recommend this option to anyone visiting Malta with a short period of time and disinterest in driving on the "opposite" side of the road. Since Malta was under British rule until 1964 they drive on the left side of the road.  Driving there seemed to contradict relaxing :) 

Bighi Complex (aka Bighi Hospital)

The two bus tours and harbor cruise took three days.  In hindsight, on the Blue/North Tour I wish we would have stopped wandered walked around the cities of Mdina and Rabat although the Aviation Museum was interesting.  The final day we took the South/Red Tour which was by far our favorite with highlights being the fishing village Marsaxlokk and the Blue Grotto. 

Marsaxlokk Village

Marsaxlokk fishing boats

Fresh Paint and Evil Eyes

Near Blue Grotto

WAVES...

That was fun....Yes, I am standing behind this camera wet, very wet from the knee down, but worth it.

Enjoying waves and sunshine

Heaps of beach glass - Balluta Bay

We were really surprised by how cheap things were - food, drinks, dining out and entertainment was all very reasonable.  As we walked through the grocery store I kept thinking to myself that this is an island and we naturally thought food would be more expensive considering the journey it takes to get there.  We weren't complaining though.  We really enjoyed the rental apartment we found through airbnb.com too.

Veranda view

Maltese Windows - everywhere

Outside Valletta

 A great place to be - we really enjoyed Malta - grateful to have made it there.  Enjoy!

Next up...Provence :)

Happy Travels!

Sweet Salzburg

I completely forgot to write about our short trip to Salzburg, Austria.  First of all, we loved the city, the food, the people, the sights and the snow which rarely falls on Frankfurt.  Sounds blasphemous to speak of cold snowy weather as I look out on this gorgeous Spring day with temperatures near 70 degrees.  Seems even more wrong to brag about our glorious weather here when my poor family and friends back in Michigan are still under the chilly grip of old man winter.  I digress.....

Salzburg was our destination between Christmas and New Years Eve.  We wanted to be in our own place on Christmas, stay in our pajamas all day, eat comfort food and watch Hannah unwrap her gifts.  Starting our own traditions is so much fun.  We also didn't want to miss the New Years Eve fireworks in Frankfurt from our upper terrace - always a spectacular view like being in a snow globe of fireworks.

View of the Alps from the Hohensalzburg Fortress

We had an awesome room in Salzburg - one that gave us extra space and allowed for us to sit up after Hannah's bedtime instead of huddling in the dark and whispering.  The incredible view of the fortress had us second guessing how much we actually paid. We arrived on the last evening of the Weihnachtsmarkt, which was quaint and similar to the German markets.

Christmas Decorations in the Hohensalzburg Fortress 

Chapel in the Fortress

Yes, I kissed my love in the "Love Grotto" :)

Just into the Alps - in search of snow......

To take this little one sledding.....she hated it!

Stunning view after our sledding attempt - made the hour drive worthwhile

Oldest Restaurant in Europe - St. Peter's Stiftskeller 

View from the fortress towards the Alps

The fortress from across the Salzach River
Salzburg means Salt Castle

Salzach River

Bike Parking at the Augustiner Brewery
Gotta love it!

There was so much to see in Salzburg.  We only touched the tip of iceberg so to speak - as we didn't get to venture out of the city much, but when we did we were constantly saying to each other, "Oh, this would be great in the Spring." or "I want to come back!" maybe hopefully that is possible.